Record purchasing on credit cards - 2004-01-02
Shoppers charged a record £11.56bn ($20.6bn) on their credit cards in November, official figures reveal. Despite an increase in UK interest rates in the same month, the figure was well up on November 2002's total of £10.14bn.

The UK's increased dependency on credit cards has led to increased conern over personal bankruptcies. Separately, Bank of England figures reveal that new mortgage lending fell to £8.6bn in November.
Read the full story at BBC

Annaly Mortgage to acquire asset manager - 2004-01-02
Annaly Mortgage Management Inc., a manager of mortgage-backed securities, on Friday said it reached an agreement to acquire Fixed Income Discount Advisory Co. for as much as $90 million in stock to expand in asset management.

New York-based Annaly said it will issue common shares worth about $40.5 million, based on Wednesday prices, to FIDAC shareholders when the merger is completed.
Read the full story at Reuters